Chicken math - how do you allow for additions? How MANY do you allow?

[aart]

Have you ever had to expand your coop due to chicken math?

Nope.
No space or funds and I am annoyingly logical and pragmatic no fun at all....
....and have many years experience with will power.

 

[SueT]

No more for me, I've maxed out my coop. If I want more chickens, I have to sell some first. Luckily there's a year round poultry swap here.

 

[sumi]

I started a few years ago with about 4 hens, sold the surplus eggs (we don't eat much eggs) and found a huge demand for it... Which of course is a perfect excuse to get more chickens, right? Build a bigger coop and expanded the flock by ehh... 100

Whatever your reasons are for getting more chickens, it will happen. Chickens are like potato chips, you got to have more. Welcome to the addiction!

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

We started with 6 chicks 2 were OEGB bantam cockerels, 1 BO, 3 Easter Eggers. We had a 6x4 coop that a friend gave us, the next spring after loosing both oegb boys to hawks, we got 8 more chicks, at the time the coop looked big enough. But it wasn’t. So that summer we got to work building a 8x10 coop inside of our pole barn. The next spring we got about 10 more chicks and they lived happily in the 8x10 then we moved to a house we built next door ( medical issues with an old house) so we built a 12x12 coop then got about 15 more chicks, I never wanted to exceed 25 chickens in the coop so that meant giving away chickens that were mean or didn’t produce, so here we are today with 23 7 week olds (5 will be leAving us) and 14 1 year old hens 6 will be leaving. That is not all exactly correct because I can hardely remember, but it’s pretty close, I have had chickens for I think 5 or 6 years this year!

 

[danceswithronin]

I am considering rehoming chickens once a year or every other year to continually allow myself space to test new breeds and such.

My three silkies were my starter flock and if I rehome them as a group now while they are laying constantly I think it'd be easy to find a good home for them.

That would bring my flock back down to six, and give me space to maybe hatch out a few more rare breeds to go with my remaining assortment of large fowl. I worry how well my little bantams will get along with birds triple their size (my new birds are things like English Orp and Jersey Giant).

I do love the silkies though, they are strong layers and have such good personalities, so I'd hate to part with them. It's so tough!!

 

[Sassysouth]

People think that I am crazy to have chickens in the suburbs. But honestly they are the coolest pets, way better than a dog or cat (don't tell my dogs or cats I said that).

I love my chickens more than my dogs

 

[SueT]

I worry how well my little bantams will get along with birds triple their size

The bantams, being older, will be firmly in charge no matter what size the new ones become.

 

[BantyChooks]

Have you ever had to expand your coop due to chicken math?

No, my original coop was 12' x 14' and I actually downsized to 12' x 12' when re-building it. If I need more space, I build pens or butcher a few birds. I have five or six of them at the moment and I'm planning a hoop coop for young birds.

 

[danceswithronin]

The bantams, being older, will be firmly in charge no matter what size the new ones become.

That's good to know for in the future, I actually arranged today for all three of my silkie hens to go to a new home as a starter flock for someone else through my local Facebook chicken swap, to give myself a little space to order new breeds when I feel so compelled (which I'm sure I will).

In fact they sold so quickly I have a waiting list of people wanting to buy them if the first guy falls through, so I feel like I seriously underpriced them. I just sold them three for $20 as a set since I'm not interested in making money off them, just making some space in my coop.

 

[BantyChooks]

I love my chickens more than my dogs

I agree. I'd sell my dog for a nickel, but some of my birds shan't be removed from here unless pried out of my cold, dead hands.